interesting article, worth the read

www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001306.cfm

ever so weak

right now my faith is being tested. it’s been a year since I turned from my wicked way and ran towards the Saviour. following along behind has been the devil and his tormentors. in front of me has been God Almighty and His army of angels with flaming swords fighting for my spiritual existence. becoming the strength in all my weakness. Hallelujah!

I was reminded of I Thessalonians 5:24, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” at times I just want to cry. during those times the Lord draws closer and reminds me that I am not alone. He is the lover of my soul. He is always faithful. He will perform that great work within me.

My Adoni! My Almighty!

hungry?

too many of today’s independent fundamental Baptist churches are starving. by this I mean that the preacher sent from God to feed the congregation is not supplying the necessary food to strengthen and sustain the believers. born-again Christians need more than just the sincere milk of the Word given to them Sunday to Sunday. Spirit-fed meat should be found in their daily walk with God but also served up on the preaching menu on a regular basis. the downside to this is that too many of today’s independent fundamental Baptist preachers are not off the milk themselves. how can they expect their congregation to grow?

so my question is: are you hungry? the Holy Spirit has driven me to a desire for meat from the Word that it near ravenous. physically I like a good ribeye loaded with all the trimmings, and spiritually the Holy Ghost has been serving just that.

Matthew 14:22 – 32 is a favorite section of Christ’s earthly walk that I have always loved. mainly because it tells of the only 100% human to ever walk on water, Peter. but until the other day the Holy Spirit showed me something that I had never noticed. so here goes…

verse 22: "And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship." this is only a portion of the verse but notice that Jesus constrained his disciples. meaning He "urgently & repeatedly suggested" they get into a boat and leave. no doubt one could see the Lord almost physically picking them up one-by-one and placing them into the boat, telling that one to stay, and doing the same to the next just like parents do with their own children. this was done because He knew about Verse 24.

this is good! verse 24: "But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed about with waves: for the wind was contrary." I love this! Jesus Christ knew the wind was going to be contrary! do you see that? He knew when He was constraining the disciples to get into the ship in verse 22 what was going to happen in verse 24! now you can’t tell me that He isn’t the Son of God if, by chance, verse 24 just happened. nothing happens by chance to God!

so what does Jesus do? He goes for a leisurely stroll… on the sea. verse 25: "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea." I can see it now – wind and waves billowing about, a little ship being tossed to and fro like a ragdoll in a dryer, and there’s my Saviour. calmly, serenely, maybe even whistling, walking on the water – to His disciples. do you get what I am saying? Jesus knew when He was constraining in verse 22 about the storm, He even knew about taking a walk on the water, and all for what? to go to His disciples. He placed them in the exact position where the only place to go for help was to Him. and there He was. in the midst of the storm – but in control.

verse 27: "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I: be not afraid." He placed them into a boat. He placed them into the midst of the stormy sea. only to prove to them His power and might over the extenuating circumstances that surrounded them. Hallelujah! my God is mightier than any storm surrounding me! my God even places me into storms if only for me to see how mighty He is. to see that He IS in control no matter what befalls me. to prove to me that He is there at every turn of life’s wave whether calm or contrary. no doubt He does it just to flex his everlasting muscles so His children can ooh and aah over them aka give Him the glory He so richly deserves. it’s like, "Hey Christian, watch this" and then he flexes his big muscles and the storm is calm. that’s my God!

now that was all said for this. Verse 28, "And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." did you catch it? Peter ASKED to leave the safety of the ship and step out into the stormy sea. exactly where Jesus was. it wasn’t satisfactory to be in the ship NEXT to Jesus. no, he wanted to get out INTO the water. he wanted to LEAVE the ship and replace it with the Saviour – eternal security. he wasn’t content with the norm. he wasn’t satisfied being with the other 11. instead he asked Jesus, "Can I come out there with you?" I’m sure he knew how safe/unsafe those fishing boats were and decided it was more safe on the water. the key is that Peter ASKED to go out to Jesus. we’ve all heard about Peter’s faith in walking on the water and his lack of faith in sinking once out there, but we fail to realize that Peter asked Jesus if he could go to him. and where was Jesus? on the water.

now here is the meat. Jesus placed His disciples into a position in order to prove to them He was mightier that their surrounding circumstances. but once in those circumstances, He wanted to see who would take the step TOWARDS Him. God places each of His children in circumstances we do not have control over. but it is only to see if we will in turn run to the One in control of those circumstances while in that situation. the next time you find yourself in a storm, ask the one in control of the storm if you can come closer. Peter found it easy for Jesus to stretch out His arm and catch him while sinking in the waves as Jesus was right in front of him.

now to make it hurt. Jesus could have reached out His arm and catch me all those years ago before I stepped into sin. if only in the middle of the storm I turned and asked to go to Him, instead of running from Him. ouch.

my 180

friday, july 24, 2009.

that’s when it happened. my 180. true I had repented and turned many months ago, but that was the day the Father had me realize that the 180 was complete. Psalm 30:2 states, "O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me." I have simply poured my heart out to the Father just like David. I have invited His divine hands to break me, mold me and make me into what He desires. my heart longs after Him. He is my glue.

how did this happen? the Word. the daily diving into the Word (coupled with prayer). Psalm 107:20, "He sent the word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." yes, destructions – i.e. plural. meaning the path I was headed down had more than one snare I could have fallen into. seems King David had more than the one snare of being a whoremonger. if God can heal him why can’t He heal me?

He can only if I allow Him. Psalm 78:41 (this verse will change your life) reads, "Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." Scary! they turned back. they chose NOT to obey God fully. they tempted God. they also chose NOT to trust God fully. plus they limited the Holy One of Israel! they had compacted God into this neat little box. set Him on a shelf. and made Him watch them turn and tempt. they only needed Him for one thing. once that was complete, they disregarded Him all together. that one thing was deliverance. Israel was constantly getting into trouble and relying on God to deliver them. but God was big enough to deliver them AND keep them out of trouble so as to break the cycle!

that is my 180. I by no means am perfect. I am not prideful enough to say I can never return or will ever step away from my Saviour. but what I can tell you is that God Almighty has healed me. my thoughts are no longer plagued by my past life, though the devil tries from time to time (I Cor. 6:11). my desires have been transformed by the renewing of my mind (Rom. 12:2). I have willing placed myself, and continually, under God’s microscope (Prov. 1:23). and my greatest fear is to once again hurt my God and my Redeemer. should that be the fear of the Lord, then it is worth fearing (Prov. 2:5).

my God is so big, so strong and so mighty. there’s nothing my God cannot do. so true is that song. He IS strong enough to pull my sinful soul out of destruction. but ALSO strong enough to keep me close to Him. oh let me no longer limit the Holy One! may God receive the glory for what He has and will do with my life!

old friends

lo and behold I found out an old friend lives in my town. now this old friend knew me quite well prior to returning to God. she and I used to work together at a restaurant and did many things I am not proud of, nor willing to post.

the first thing the devil did was try to get me to return my thoughts to my past. once the Saviour defeated those thoughts, the devil launched into another immoral act. he said, well at least you can masterbate to memories. NO! Romans 12:1 tells us our body, including the mind, is a temple of the Lord.

this was the final giant from my past for God to defeat. it reminds me of David being used by God to smite Goliath in I Samuel 17. what is interesting is that David took 5 smooths stones. now no doubt he believed that God could kill him with just one, but Goliath had 4 brothers. only several years later did David and his mighty men defeat the remaining giants, II Samuel 21:22.

I can honestly say that God has cleaned me up - from the inside out. it is humbling to know that God has extended grace, provided mercy, and in lovingkindness has cleaned up this sinner. then on top of that has led me in His path. Psalm 25:8 tells us that God will teach sinners in the way. David was all too familiar with God's classroom as am I. but the coolest part is that God is willing to teach sinners if the sinner is willing to be taught. it just has to be in His time and in His way.

duh

if only life was this simple. truth is, it could be. you see this label should attached to every baby along with a copy of God's Word before they leave the hospital. that is life's instruction book.

too many times we forget to read the instructions and go off willy-nilly on our own. and we wonder why life is so hard. duh... we forgot to read the instructions!

this is becoming ever more prevelant in my life as I continue to follow my Lord. right now it is in the area of women. true last time I totally messed things up; but I've realized that if God is first BEFORE things start, then I'm headed in the right direction. hence reading the instruction book! I've already decided that should God choose to give me a wife it will only be because she is needed in my ministry and we can perform that ministry more completely together for our Lord. should she not be needed then I am willing to do the minstry alone.

right now, I am testing a certain female that I am interested in at church. the Father, through the Holy Spirit, impressed me to ask her out to soulwinning night... and SHE CAME TO IT. just so you know I'm kinda stoked about it. I will ask her again this Sunday night and it would be nice if she says yes. the Holy Spirit has mentioned to have no expectations just in case she refuses. the Lord MUST be first in this arena should it proceed any farther. if He is not, then any relationship will fail. by placing God first, and reading the instruction manual, it will allow God to have His will in this matter. God must get the glory for my life, including this.

Under Grace

Just try to measure east to west
Or to the oceans lowest depth
You'll find no record of my past
You'll find my Savior’s righteousness

Under grace my guilt is gone
The chief accuser lost the war
The record of my sins erased
Its buried deep under grace

I could not meet the laws demands
But God in mercy had a plan
His Son's own blood my sins erased
My pardon now reads under grace

Under grace my guilt is gone
The chief accuser lost the war
The record of my sins erased
Its buried deep under grace

The record of my sins erased
And it's buried deep under grace
And it's buried deep under grace